eBay moving towards free insertion fees!

Brooker_Dave

soolin wrote: »

I was thinking about this after I logged off last night and I wonder if they will use a tier system as well. The large volume sellers already pay less FVFs than the smaller seller and have additional paypal protection so it is quite possible that ebay will once again favour the large seller with free insertions and maybe make the rest of us pay.

I suppose until the full announcement with roll out details is announced we shan't know what ebay actually intend. I would like to think that this could be years away, but in the past these 'hint' annnouncements have been acted on very quickly.

Personally although I am worried as I'm not sure this is the way to go I would be more worried if I ran an alternative site, who (apart from those banned on ebay) would bother with a rival if they can let their goods sit on ebay for free ?

I would wager that this offer will only be open to powersellers, and that there will be some sort of monthly subscribtion.

This presumably is to wean people away from Amazon?

Will ebay's servers be able to come with the worlds excess tat all being listed at once?

soolin

Brooker_Dave wrote: »

Will ebay's servers be able to come with the worlds excess tat all being listed at once?

I know we don't always see eye to eye but this made me smile as I so agree. My first thought when I read the OP was 'great, I'll never have to go to the dump again and can ebay all my junk instead'. I've calmed down a bit now though :rotfl:

StaffsSW

Brooker_Dave wrote: »

Will ebay's servers be able to come with the worlds excess tat all being listed at once?

Well if the number of bugs and system-stress problems we see on regular Cheap days is anything to go by, then I think we know the answer to that!

soolin

Oh yes the joys of the Sunday evening 10 days after a cheap listing day :eek:

However, maybe if all our highly collectable and unique items (junk) are listed normally, ie not all at once, they just might cope?

However the model certainly didn't work for Freeserve auctions and whilst I know the ebidders won't like me saying so, I don't think it works for them either.

Brooker_Dave

stevew8975 wrote: »

Well if the number of bugs and system-stress problems we see on regular Cheap days is anything to go by, then I think we know the answer to that!

Rolling blackouts galore...

There has to be a catch, there's no way ebay will give free listings to all.

soolin

Brooker_Dave wrote: »

Rolling blackouts galore...

There has to be a catch, there's no way ebay will give free listings to all.

I agree with the thoughts earlier, I think this will be another powerseller only perk or for those with certain feedback and/or stars or some other such exclusiveness. ie, not me :rolleyes:

StaffsSW

Look at ebay's competitors - Play & Amazon - they both offer a pricing model along the lines of one flat monthly fee, and one flat selling fee.

As mentioned above, it's likely this will be brought in for business sellers only - the reduction in Insertion revenue will be made up by the income from final value fees and paypal charges. The recent ebay Q1 results show that their revenue growth has come from "non-auction" activities - paypal, skype, subscription fees etc.

soolin

The problem is we are virtually all buisness sellers now, there are very few people who are going to get away with registering as a private seller and just selling personal items they find in their houses.

I think your suggestion about some sort of fee is interesting, I can see the thought pattern of the ebay CEO thinking that by offering certain perks for a fixed fee they can boost the big sellers and lose even more of the small 'hobby' sellers in one go. basically Amazon do that already to a degree, as a pro merchant I can afford to undercut the small non pro seller and therefore increase my own sales which has a knock on effect. The smaller seller can really only cpmpete in rare or very expensive books where the price is more important than the turnover.

Hmm, I don't think I am making sense here, my brain knows what it means but I can't seem to get it down in words. Anyway, I can't help but feel whatever ebay do it will just be another nail in the coffin of my sales.

Brooker_Dave

soolin wrote: »

The problem is we are virtually all buisness sellers now, there are very few people who are going to get away with registering as a private seller and just selling personal items they find in their houses.

I can't see the point in ebay chasing business sellers only, as business sellers are far more likely to have their own e-commerce websites without any of the fees of the negative publicity of being connected with ebay.

soolin

It's been their stated intention to retain the larger business model sellers rather than the small 'hobby' sellers. That's why the big sellers get the fee breaks and the added paypal protection that the rest of us don't get.

They aim to move towards a model where ebay is seen a a professional selling platform with business sellers who comply with all the selling regulations, rather than to stay as a site seen as a hobby seller paradise.

Might as well get my coat now...